What's Your Worth?

John is a good man.  He has a nice house that his wife has made into a home for John and their two children.  He has an above average job that more than pays the bills and puts food on the table.  The casual observer would believe that John is a happy guy; he is not.  Unfortunately, he listens and takes to heart other people's opinions.  These people have no real stake in John's life nor he in theirs.  As becomes the fate of many, John, within the deep of his mind, elevated these people to being greater in life than he.  Sadly, John's sense of self-worth is in the toilet.  He, and he alone gave them power over his self-esteem, his feeling of worth and value.  Fortunately, that power can be easily broken.  The Havamal, ancient wisdom from the northern lands states that:  

Verse 22 - A paltry man / and poor of mind, *

                 At all things ever mocks (italics mine);

                 For never he knows / what he ought to know,

                That he is not free from faults (italics mine).  

Nobody is perfect.  And, many of us are or have been "John" at one point in our lives.  When we step back and take a hard look at these "friends," we find them living in glass houses supported by toothpicks; don't take these people seriously - they will suck the life force right out of you.  And know that they love to feast on your distress.  From time to time, all of us need to take stock of what we already have and what we are capable of doing.  The Havamal says:  

Verse 68 - Fire for men / is the fairest gift, * 

                 And power to see the sun;

                 Health as well / if a man may have it, 

                And a life not stained with sin.  

Verse 69 - All wretched is no man / though never so sick; *

                 Some from their sons have joy,

                 Some win it from kinsmen / and some from their wealth,

                And some from worthy works.  

Verse 70 - It is better to  live / than lie a corpse, *

                 The live man catches the cow; 

                 I saw flames rise / for the rich man's pyre,

                And before his door he lay dead.  

We all have self-worth and sometimes simple reflection helps us find it.  Other times, reading some of the verses from The Havamal can be a big help.  Do not let the blood sucking nay- sayers steal your worth.  Since they are probably not paying your bills, tell them, to bugger off.   

* The Havamal, from The Poetic Edda, Henry Adams Bellows translation, 1936

                                         Copyright @2014 Terry Unger

                     

   

A Time To Plant

Spring is officially here.  It's time to brush off the last vestiges of winter and enjoy the warm sun on our faces.  If you are a gardener, it's time to prep your soil and clean up your tools.  Isn't gardening like achieving a goal?  You need to plan out your garden and then work your plan to harvest it's bounty (the goal).  It is a bit odd how many folks attempt to reach a goal without a ghost of a plan.  The Havamal, a book of wisdom from pre-Christian Europe, speaks to us on this subject and a multitude of others.  Let's take a look:  

Verse 116 -  I rede thee Loddfafnir / and hear thou my rede, *

                    Profit thou hast if thou hearest, 

                    Great thy gain if thou learnest; 

                    If o'er mountains or gulfs / thou fain wouldst go, 

                    Look well to thy food for the way.  

Verse 60 -   Of seasoned shingles / and strips of bark, *

                   For the thatch let one know his need, 

                   And how much of wood / he must have for a month, 

                   Or in half a year he will use.  

Do not be confused or blown away by the seemingly quaint references about food and wood.  When these verses were first spoken and later written, men had to plan to have enough food and firewood to make it through a winter.  Failure to plan resulted in death by either freezing, starvation, or both.  In those days, the goal was to survive winter and greet spring.  Your goal may not be as serious, but it still requires planning.  Once you have a plan, you must put it in motion by working your plan.  Yes, work.  A wiggle of the nose or chanting a verse or two is not a substitute for work (if anything, it is the absence thereof).  Without working your plan, your goal is nothing more than a wish.  Again, The Havamal:  

Verse 58 - He must early go forth / who fain the blood *

                 Or the goods of another would get; 

                 The wolf that lies idle / shall win little meat, 

                Or the sleeping man success (italics mine). 

Verse 59 - He must early go forth / whose workers are few, *

                 Himself his work to seek; 

                 Much remains undone / for the morning sleeper, 

                For the swift is wealth half won (italics mine).  

The instruction from the Havamal is that work gets the job done; you snooze, you lose.  Again, do not let the quaintness of the text fool you.  If you want to reach your goal(s), you must plan and then work your plan.   

* The Havamal, from The Poetic Edda, Henry Adams Bellows translation, copyright, 1936

                             

                                              Copyright @2014 Terry Unger

Who's the Boss?

Many of you will remember the TV sitcom, Who's the Boss? from the 1980's starring Tony Danza and Judith Light.  Danza's character was a retired baseball player who became the housekeeper for Judith Light's character, a high powered Wall Street executive.  As I recall, both characters had strong personalities that gravitated to meet the other in the middle.  It would be peachy in real life if that would be the rule rather than the exception.  

In our modern world, people are driven to succeed at all costs; those who die with the most toys wins.  These costs include sacrificing one,s morals and ethics for the sake of a few dollars more and to be named "employee of the month."  Misleading the customer and screwing over one's peers, in this game, is par for the course.  Personal buttons are pushed:  wants, needs, and desires are played upon to make one feel that no action is wrong, you are just doing your job.  Or, advancing your "career."  As the paycheck increases, personal morals and ethics go out the window.  This begs at least one question.

In the course of general employment is it wrong for an employer to demand that an employee do things against his or her will, morals, and ethics?  The short answer is yes, but many folks fear the loss of the paycheck and thus are willing to turn a blind eye to what is right.  This is sad.  It is sad that people have to make that choice.  It is the world we live in, it is our times.  But what does some ancient, pre-Christian wisdom have to say about this?  Enter the Havamal.  

Verse 8 - Happy the one / who wins for himself *

               Favor and praises fair; 

               Less safe by far / is the wisdom found,

               That is hid in another's heart.  

(You did it yourself, not trusting in another)

Verse 9 - Happy the man / who has while he lives, *

               Wisdom and praise as well, 

               For evil counsel / a man full oft,

              Has from another's heart.   

(Trusting others to help you prosper is not wise)

We must stop this race, the keeping up with the Jones's race.  This race is not just impractical but it is a race that cannot be won....by anyone.  Every man is important; every man has wealth and worth.  

Verse 36 - Better a house / though a hut it be, * 

                 A man is master at home; 

                 A pair of goats / and a patched up roof,

                 Are better far than begging.  

Verse 37 - Better a house / though a hut it be, *

                 A man is master at home; 

                 His heart is bleeding / who needs must beg, 

                When food he farm would have.  

 (When you have these things, you can improve on them with your own effort.  Begging takes on many forms, like surrendering your will and accepting the will of another)

There is nothing wrong with honest prosperity.  But, can prosperity be true when one's morals and ethics are sacrificed?  When friends and beliefs are tossed on the fire?  I think not.  A man of honor who is self-reliant will prosper.  A man who is master of his home, hearth, heart, and mind is already wealthy.  So, who is the boss?  Any man, as just stated.  Do not surrender these things to anyone.  If you do, you will live to regret it.  

* The Havamal (or Havamol), from the Poetic Edda, Henry Adams Bellows translation, 1936

                                            Copyright @2014 Terry Unger  

  

The Great Outdoors

The other day our neighbor dropped in for some pleasant conversation.  During the course of story swapping, he told me that he was taking his family camping.  It was high time, he said, to introduce his kids to nature, and not the nature found in one's back yard.  What can they experience, he stated, by spending a moment or two around trimmed shrubs that surrounded the family pool.  The man rented a campsite in one of our state's really great parks.  But as our conversation continued, he told me that his kid's greatest concern was not the fear of bears, snakes, wolves, or coyotes.  And, having to walk a short distance to the public facilities did not appear to phase them.  The problem?  The kids wanted to know if the campsite had WiFi for their smart phones.  Almost sheepishly, he asked me for advice.  I really do not like giving other people advice; truth has a way of burning a bridge.  

Humans need to reconnect with nature.  Even though we have manged to alienate it, nature still is a part of us.  We need to spend time in the woods, forests, and fields, take hikes along riverbeds and sit in front of a shimmering lake.  People need to feel the earth against their naked feet and splash water in their faces from a mountain waterfall.  And not just once in life, but as many times possible within a month.  

Do you feel the need to de-stress?  Really?  Then take your ass out of the house and away from anything electronic.  Find a tree, sit underneath and just breathe.  You will be surprised.  Play in the dirt:  garden, plant trees, and hold the earth in your hands and smell it.  Do you want to strengthen your kid's immune system?  Let them play and roll around in the earth's soil, let them get good and dirty.  It washes off.  

Making a connection today with nature is truly a spiritual quest.  But it did not used to be this way.  Materialism ran rampant and humanity was pulled into its vortex.  Like a Black Hole, materialism sucked the humanity out of us and our connection with nature was lost.  We were disconnected to what should be normal and natural for our species.  We forgot our roots, we forgot our sacred relationship with nature.  It was like a bag was put over our heads.  But, I think that we allowed it to happen.  Specifically, in regards to this subject, we allowed the addiction to technology to overcome us.  Technology is not necessarily the problem; the addiction to it is the problem.  We need to reconnect with our roots and with nature.  The thing is, Mother Nature can cure us of many of our ills and addictions, but only if we allow it to happen.   

It took a minute or two before I told my neighbor my thoughts.  I told him to build a fire, to let it get blue -hot.  At that moment, I said, take the smart phones not just from your kids but your wife's also and toss them into the fire.  Then add yours to the flames.  The guy looked at me like I just told him to burn down his house.  That's the problem when you give advice, even when it's solicited.  I sure as hell was not going to tell him to build a cell tower in a state park.  I smell a bridge, burning.   

                                                 Copyright @2014 Terry Unger

     

Spending Time Wisely

When you take the time to learn a trade or profession you have not wasted your energy.  It is time well spent.  Unfortunately today many people will not do that.  These people prefer a constant handout over a hand up.  But these same people have not realized that one day there will be nothing left to hand out; they got it all and gave nothing back.  

A trade or profession is portable; an electrician can work anywhere as can a nurse (just two examples). When you have the knowledge and the resultant skill-sets, you have become self-reliant.  And that self reliance gives you the ability to stand up on your own, to take care of yourself and your family.  Taking one step further, when self-reliance is combined with industriousness, the world suddenly becomes your oyster.  But, you have to possess the "want to."  

To those who prefer handouts to hand ups, I ask this question:  what will you do when the well that supplies you runs dry?  To those people who refuse to learn English and have their hands out, I ask this question:  what will you do if English becomes the lawful tongue?  The pendulum swings.  

                                                      Copyright @2014 Terry Unger      

Dare To Be Great

When you are young, people tell you, "You're too young for that."  Then when you are old, people tell you, "You're too old for that."  If you are an infant or totally enfeebled, these admonitions hold some water.  But I am willing to bet that you do not fall into those two groups; most of us do not.  Moreover, it's more than likely that these naysayers never did a damned thing in their lives, other than move from the couch to the refrigerator.  

Modern buzz words like "think outside of the box" and "move out of your comfort zone" challenge you to take a risk.  The risk can be small or huge, but without risk, nothing moves forward; everything remains static, the status quo.   If you want to do or be something special, you need to take risks.  The taste of success is sweeter with the greater level of risk; you need to take a chance.  

So get off the couch and turn off the television.  Turn off your computer and smart phone.  Grab a tablet and pen.  Plan out your dream and then work your plan.  Go on, dare to be great.  

                                                    Copyright @2014 Terry Unger   

An Older Man's View Of Morals, Ethics, Fidelity, and Honor

When folks talk about our western world being awash in immorality, there is a certain validity to the statement.  Unless you have lived under a rock in the Arctic, were raised by wolves, or spent the last 50 years in outer Mongolia, it is hard to not see it; all kinds of illicit temptation is in the open for all to see.  Then, there is the Internet, but that's a story for another time.  Unfortunately, too many people play fast and loose with their ethics and morals.  They sacrifice what's good and wholesome for short term pleasure or quick monetary gain, thinking that they will get away with it.  Maybe in our modern world people do not understand morals and ethics, or they just don't give a damn.  Let's see what Mr. Webster has to say:

   

Moral(s) - 1a   of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior/  b. expressing a teaching a conception of right behavior. * 

Ethic(s) - 1.  the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation ** 

Ethical 3.  conforming to accepted standards of conduct ***

When we read Mr. Webster's definition for moral(s), we see the words principles and teaching.  Looking at ethic(s) and ethical, we see the words discipline, duty, obligation, and conforming.  Therefore, morals, the principles of right and wrong behavior are things that are taught (and today often discarded).  Ethics on the other hand, is the application and living these principle in daily life.  These principles of right and wrong, as ethics, then become a part of the person's character.  Let's look at morals and ethics using the following question:  

What is the difference between a moral man and an ethical man?  

A moral man knows that is wrong to "cheat" on his wife, but temptation convinces him to justify negative behavior. Thus, he thinks that he has earned the right to do so, and then proceeds to commit infidelity.  It's almost Lokian how this works.  An ethical man, because he has burned the principles of right and wrong into his character, so much so that it has become a part of him, will not commit infidelity for two reasons:  he knows that infidelity is wrong and, he is not willing to let that negative action stain his character and honor.  Some people still think that fidelity and honor matter.  Obviously, the ethical man understands fidelity and honor.  

Fidelity, or the loyalty to spouse, ancestors, family, Gods, and friends never should be taken lightly; it is the stuff that binds when all else fails.  Honor is something that, if lost, is very hard to regain.  Honor is not only your character, but your good name and how people look at you.  Only fools trade away fidelity and honor for illicit pleasure or short term gains.  Take a look around you.  Who do you know that has fallen?  Who do you know that has trashed their fidelity and honor?    

*Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, copyright 2007 Merriam-Webster Incorporated

** Ibid

*** Ibid

  

                                                Copyright @2014/2016 Terry Unger